Ten Seconds
by mzminola
Summary: In Hallow Bastion, why is there a time-limit with the water clones? Our hero is clearly alive, but the battle is just as clearly lost.


Sora swung the keyblade through the last water-clone just a split second after Demyx finished his countdown from ten. The splashy fragments of the last clone grew into more and more and more- Sora kept swinging but these clones just kept multiplying, like a hydra, until Demyx's sitar knocked the Keyblade away.

"Time to change the beat," Demyx said, with a snap of his fingers. The clones piled onto Sora's arms and legs, pulling him down.

"Okay, I was wrong, you're a great fighter," Sora said, struggling against the water. "You're still a wimp though. Can't fight without help- ow!" He bit his tongue when the clones thwacked his head on the ground.

"Told you not to judge by appearances," Demyx said. The Keyblade rematerialized, and Sora twisted his wrist, slicing through one of the clones. It didn't reform.

"Quit that." Demyx narrowed his eyes. Sora sliced through two more clones, though the extras took their places. Demyx stomped on Sora's forearm, loosening his grip, and kicked the Keyblade away. Before Sora could summon it back, Demyx swung his sitar up- down- and the spiked end went right through Sora's hand.

Sora didn't scream, though his mind was, just let out a soundless little gasp. He called the Keyblade to his other hand, got a few solid hit's on the Nobody's leg. Demyx repeated the process.

"It's not nice to kill the poor water clones, you know? I thought heroes were supposed to_ nice_."

"Not…to the monsters."

"Now that's just plain rude!"

"You're re…repeating yourself."

"Well _you_ can't talk without wincing."

"Kinda…bleeding…a lot."

"Wuss."

Sora closed his eyes. Donald and Goofy would wake up any minute and heal him. Then he'd be able to move his fingers again, feel more there then a hideous leaking throb. Then there wouldn't be this weight on his torso-

Sora snapped his eyes open, to find that Demyx was straddling his waist. The Nobody propped his elbows on Sora's chest, and smirked at him. "It's kinda hard to wake you up if you're dead, you know? But aggression's not doing the trick."

"Funny, I don't feel like I'm dreaming."

"Oh, come on! Just snap out of it already." Demyx drummed his fingers against his face for a moment, then grinned. He unbuckled the armor on Sora's shoulders. "Like I said, time to change the beat."

"What- ow- what're you doing?"

"What do you think?" Demyx unbuckled Sora's pants' belt. He slid his hands up under Sora's shirt. "Ringing any bells?"

"Donald! Goofy! Help!"

"Psh." Demyx took one hand out of Sora's shirt to gesture towards the still unconscious pair. The water clones not busy keeping Sora's limbs pinned slide over to them. "Like I'd let them interfere."

"Leave them alone!"

"Worry about yourself again, Roxas. Like you did when you betrayed us."

Something about the words resonated at the back of Sora's mind, like they had when the Nobody had called him a traitor. Out of the panic and fear and pain came _anger_. He snarled when Demyx's hand moved towards his zipper, and then all his senses were consumed by a blinding light.

~~~

"Demyx." Roxas's voice came from Sora, along with a growl deep in his throat.

"Roxas! Oh wow, it really-"

"I told you before," Roxas said, the Keyblade disappearing from where it had been kicked. Demyx expected it to reappear in the Roxas's broken hand, so the sudden blow to the back of his head was a shock. He was too dazed to dodge follow-up attacks.

"I'm. Not. INTERESTED."

Sora woke near Donald and Goofy, clutching the Keyblade. His clothes were soaked with water, but also zipped up and buckled, even the pockets. No clones in sight. Sora sighed in relief. He must've got knocked out, had a nightmare- wait, his gloves had potion residue on them-

He noticed Demyx, all the way on the other side of the circle, using the wall to pull himself up.

"How'd you do that, Roxas?"

"Shut up!" Sora yelled. He threw the Keyblade.

It connected squarely with Demyx's face before returning to Sora.


End file.
